The Host
by satsujinsha
Summary: Roxas' life is perfect... until he says the wrong name in bed.
1. Prologue

**HAPPY EARLY BIRTHDAY ANDREA MY LOOOOOVE3  
saynotodrugs! **

anyway, enjoy enjoy (:

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**Prologue Part 1: Roxas**

I loved my life. It was perfectly normal. It was great, too. I had a sweet, sincere, incredibly nice girlfriend, a well paying job, awesome friends, and a scholarship to one of the greatest schools in all the linked worlds. I had plenty of friends, some close and good to be around, and some… not so much. My brother even let me crash at his apartment for a few months while I had no place to stay, having just gone to Hollow Bastion for school.

He eventually forced me to go look for an apartment, not that I really minded. His boyfriend had moved in recently, and we all agreed that it would be incredibly awkward if I'd stayed with them. So I browsed the city for a few days, each day coming back empty handed. But my brother would just smile at me and tell me that it's no big deal, as long as I _did_ find one.

It was a week before I could find one. But when I did, it was this great apartment. One of the walls—well, it wasn't a wall at all, I guess it was just a giant window, with this great view. In my opinion it was, anyway. Everyone that comes to visit just stares out the window, gawking at the 'giant pile of rubble.' Of course, I look at it as ruins of a giant castle that went down defiantly, and it would eventually make its way back up, once again looking radiant.

Luckily, my girlfriend had a different view of the crumbled castle than all these other people. She was one of those rare people that appreciated art, no matter what size, shape, or condition. Well, at least I think she liked it. Every time she came over, she would open the door and sit on the patio for hours and hours, just sitting there, till I practically dragged her inside. Maybe she just didn't like the interior design of the apartment… or needs fresh air after the five-hour plane ride from Twilight Town.

Twilight Town was my hometown. It was always sunny, and the sunsets were really beautiful, every single night. I would sit on the clock tower with my friends, usually in our group of four, staring at the sun glowing brightly, while we ate our sea-salt ice cream. It was our tradition. I would do anything to do that again… except maybe ditch school. I worked in_credibly_ hard to get this scholarship.

Anyway, back to my story about the clock tower. Sometimes I would go with my old friend; we go way back. We went to the same preschool together, even though he was two years older than me. His mom was paranoid or something, and didn't want him to go too early. Bullies or something. Well, we pretty much grew up together. We lived four houses away from each other, and we went to the same elementary, middle, and high schools.

And then we were graduating from senior year. It seemed like the fastest twelve years I'd ever experienced. I wished I could freeze everything; maybe even go back in time. I didn't want to graduate, but at the same time, I felt like I really wanted to get out of Twilight Town. Even though I loved it, and still do, it started to feel like a dark hole that I couldn't get out of. Like I was trapped. Anyway, I wanted to freeze time. I would be going to Hollow Bastion, while all of my friends would be staying at TT.

And my best, best friend would be going all the way to Traverse Town. I was happy for him; I was happy for everyone that got into a decent college... or a college at all, but I didn't want my life to go away. Disappear. I was reluctant to get on the plane. He was there, along with my group of school friends, waving at me while I walked into the…Hall of Death. Or so he called it. As I handed the lady my ticket, I almost yanked it away and ran back to them, screaming at them, wondering why they would let me go, just like that.

But I didn't. Although I was in business class on the plane, I felt like I was in agony. I wondered when I was going to see them again, if they would still be the same people when I _did_ see them. What if they threw it away? It was the first trophy I'd ever won. There were thousands of questions scrambling around my head, till one of the flight attendants came over sounding awfully worried. She gave me a sleeping pill and a large glass of juice, which I swallowed quickly. Eventually sleep overcame me, but I fidgeted in my sleep; the man next to me even asked if he could switch seats with someone.

I didn't hear from them often, but when I did, our conversations would be brief and soon the conversations started to become awkward. Eventually we grew farther and farther apart, and I received less and less phone calls. When I called them, it would be awkward and quiet, and the only thing to ask was how classes were. In the end, the calls stopped altogether, and I was fine with it. I had made some new friends here at Hollow Bastion, too, but I knew they would never be as close as my old friends once were. They could never replace them.

…I never heard from _him_ though. I didn't even hear from his family, the paranoid, over protective family. The one time I tried to call, an old man picked up. He sounded incredibly angry, probably because of the time difference, and when I asked about the family that used to live there, he said they cleared up more than four months ago. Even though I had this information, I didn't understand why they wouldn't call me. Inform me of things that were… going on? Happening? It was incredibly upsetting, but I wouldn't let it get in the way of my studies and I later on accepted it. Forgive and forget, right? And that's just what I did.

I forgot. I don't remember his face anymore. I don't remember why we were friends. I don't even remember his name. I didn't mean to close off that part of my mind completely. I wish I could remember. I wish I hadn't stepped on the plane. I wish I could have spent more time with him when I could. All my memories of him are hazy; we would hang out together. I would see him in these memories, but his face would be blurred out. There were smudges of brown, black and white. Surrounding him. Swallowing him up. Erasing him from my life completely. As much as I tried, I could never make out his face. Even in my dreams, I would see the large blob of colors. We would be talking and laughing, but I only heard my voice. My laughter. _Me_. He was gone.

I don't remember him at all, but it was always like there was this empty pit in my heart that would ache, subsiding only when I slept. It was painful, but I learned to ignore it, distracting myself with my new friends, girlfriend, family, school... you name it. Eventually the pit disappeared, the pit was filled, and I was able to live normally. I felt like the happiest person alive, again having that perfect life. Perfect girlfriend. Perfect house, friends…perfect everything.

And then my girlfriend visited. One night while we were hanging out, we were having fun, acting completely carefree. I wish I could get that relaxed, happy feeling back. I wish I'd never opened my dumb mouth. But I did. It was unstoppable. I don't know how it happened. I was on top of her panting body, and then I said it. I said someone else's name. I said a _boy's_ name. I said something that would change my life forever.

Her beautiful blue eyes shot open; she slapped me in the face nice and hard and ran out of the room calling me a heartless bastard. But of course she was still there in the morning, she had four more days before her flight back to Twilight Town. She was sitting out on the porch, her eyes glazed over as she stared at the workers chipping away at piles of cracked rock fallen from the castle. I knew she didn't want to talk to me, she just wanted out.

Her eyes were red on the rims, and she occasionally sniffled and made quiet whimpering noises. But when I walked onto the patio and took the seat next to her, she gulped, her gaze held on the workers never wavered. Then she opened and closed her mouth repeatedly, looking as though she was about to start crying again. I had no idea what I was supposed to do, so I just stared at her like the dumb ass I was. Then she sighed.

She asked me who he was. I told her I honestly didn't know. I was ready to get down on my knees and _beg_ for her to believe me. But she just sighed again, apparently too tired to disagree. It was silent for a few more minutes; I took the time to try and figure out who this guy was. I wanted him out. Out of my head and out of my life. I gathered her in my arms, rocking back and forth slightly while she cried silently into my shirt. Then she told me that she loved me.

I couldn't say it back.

I hate my life.

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**Prologue Part 2: Axel**

I hated my life. It was messed up. I had shitty over-protective parents; I lived in a fucking shack. The closest thing I've had to a girlfriend was my best friend. And he wasn't even single. He was going out with this girl for like thirty years, and I was just about ready to kick her into a hole, yelling at her to go die an a hole. Yeah, I had friends beside him, but he was the only one I could… you know, _talk_ with. He was different. Don't ask me why I think so. I'll just tell you to fuck off, I don't fucking know.

I always bullied him, but of course, that's just brotherly love. I would give him noogies every chance I got, but act like the best kid in the world when we were around his parents and friends and such. I started bullying him in preschool, when we first got around to being friends. It's actually a very strange story. It was kind of random, not like one of those stories that you would see as everyday children's books.

At the preschool, all the kids were those stuck up and rich. I was the only one that was only decent. The only one that wore jeans and basketball shorts instead of khakis. I was also taller than all of them, noticeable from any angle or distance. I really hated that school. Every single day, I would sit alone at the art table, drawing stick figures with pale brown pants, then stab them with red on the tip of the paint brush.

My paintings were never put on the fridge, which disappointed me beyond belief. The counselor, or whatever, would look over my shoulder and watch as I painted. Then I would pick up the big brush. She would open and close her mouth for a while and make weird hand movements before she would give up and just yank it right out of my hands, asking if I would rather paint something like flowers, or even hang out with the other kids. I just glared at her, narrowing my eyes into little slits, reaching up for the paintbrush, my fists opening and closing like the baby I was. She would sigh and reluctantly had it to me, and I would resume my beautiful work.

Yeah, I enjoyed preschool. And then _he_ came. He stood next to me, holding hands with a little girl that was practically hiding behind him. She was probably scared of me because of how many times the counselor would have to talk to me. But everyone there thought I was scary. The boy smiled at me and asked if he could paint with me. I stared at him for a second, his smile never wavering. Then I gazed back down at my painting, an arrow pointing at the pants saying, 'kackeez.' I looked back at him, then at the girl, and told him if he wanted to play with me the girl had to go away. They had cooties.

He looked kind of shocked at first, but then just told her to go play with the dolls or something like that. I folded the paper of the boy with khakis, and recycled it quickly. I could practically hear the counselor's relief. After that, I stopped painting boys with khakis. I painted girls with flowery dresses. Not much of an improvement, but it was better than nothing, right?

Then once the day was over and his parents came to pick him up, he was holding _my_ hand. Not that snobby little girl's hand. I knew the girl was behind us crying though. Ha, ha, ha, rejected, bitch. Anyway, he introduced me to his parents. They were nice enough. When his parents tried to drag him into the car, he said he wouldn't leave until my mommy and daddy got there.

Since then we were practically biffles. If you haven't heard that before, you're a dumb ass. Mom and Dad later found out that it was just a walking distance from my house to his, even though mine was much less... big. And from then on we hung out almost every day after school, playing video games, doing 'homework,' and even prank calling. We were some rebellious little fifth graders. But that amazing tirade of evil was soon over in middle school.

Only a few weeks, or months or something, into sixth grade, he got his first girlfriend. It was that girl I said had cooties way back in preschool. It was annoying sometimes, when we were hanging out and prank calling, she would tell us that 'that's not the right thing to do boys,' and smack the phone back into the receiver. It really pissed me off, and even though he tried not to show it, it really pissed him off too.

Eventually he was able to get his girlfriend out of his life—not completely, just when he was with me, though I would prefer all the way out—and we went back to doing the loser-ish things we did. I could tell that I was first priority, I was a… higher rank, I guess you could say, than that bitch. I was practically high with giddiness when she was gone.

But then high school came, and he was still with her. Even though I didn't exactly disapprove of her or hate her, I didn't want her constantly watching over him. She was like a creepy stalker, only the good kind (if that makes sense). Anyway, after the SATs came, I started getting tons and tons of mail from tons and tons of colleges, having earned one of the top scores, as did he.

I was still upset though, because I didn't get anything from my dream college. Neither did he. So as the senior year began to come to a close, and as we all started signing up for colleges, I got several acceptances; almost ten, and three of them were scholarships. I felt incredibly old though. I was 20 while everyone else was 18.

And then one day, I got this giant envelope. It was plain white, except for my address. It was kind of scary, but I was pretty sure I knew what it was. I held it up to the light first, hoping it wasn't college money. Even though that would have been a pretty good thing too. So I opened it, and started grinning like a mad man when I saw the small blue symbol at the top left corner.

The words 'Congratulations! You've been accepted into Traverse Town University, scholarship included!' screamed at me loudly in the face. I whooped and cheered, and the first thing I did was run over to his house. About thirty seconds in, I saw him running towards me, waving a stack of papers over his head. We stopped in front of each other, grinning and panting wildly, leaning on each other for support.

We exchanged papers, and my smile quickly turned to a deep frown. He was going to his dream school, I was going to mine. They were practically on the opposite sides of the… universe, I guess. I looked at him, and his expression just about mirrored mine. His face spazzed for a second, then he took his papers back and dragged me to his house. We decided to book our flights early, so we could get seats we wanted and the times that we wanted. Key word: Times. This way I could be with him while he got his… stuff done and waited for the flight. Then I could just walk to my section in the building and go straight to my plane. Easy as pie, right? Not really. We spent two hours looking for those tickets, most of them not on sale yet.

So we spent this awesome summer together (wow that sounds really cliché), going to the clock tower every other night to watch the sunset (wow that sounds even more cliché), and tried to make the most of it before we would leave and never see each other again!

But you see, well, there is a little twist on this beautiful little story. There was no happy ending. Not even a decently happy ending. It was depressing, and I truly hated my life. I waved goodbye to him at the airport, and I could tell he was debating whether to really give the ticket to the girl letting them in the plane. I glared at him till he turned around and walked inside. I sighed and patted his friends on the back, saying a quick and chipper goodbye.

I then left and got on my plane, deciding to make the most of the eight hour plane ride by sleeping. My parents had already found an apartment for me at Traverse Town; I had lived in this strangely colored room with this girl named Yuffie for a while. I guess she was cool, until she pushed me into the street telling me to go and talk to that 'hottie across the street.'

Of course, I just happened to get hit by a car. I was in the hospital for almost four weeks, then I was able to go to school for like two, then I tripped on the stairs and hit one of my more sensitive, not-as-healed scars on the artery on my neck, and I totally started bleeding profusely. I didn't even bother calling for help. I knew it was the end, and I definitely wasn't scared of it. Someone found my lifeless body laying on the staircase, and I just watched from my perch at the top of the staircase. I guess I was just too bad for heaven and too good for hell. But yes, I had become a ghost.

At first, I absolutely hated it. No one could see me, I couldn't do anything social, no one could feel me, I couldn't feel anyone... and most of all, I couldn't talk to him. He probably doesn't even know I'm dead. I don't think _anyone_ knows I'm dead... except for maybe Yuffie. So I went to find him, and pulled the evilest little prank in the world. At first I was just experimenting going in and out of his body. He was still able to think and do things like he normally would without any odd side affects.

And then _she_ came over. The _she_ that I despised with a passion. The _she_ that could visit him every month because her parents are fucking rich bastards. The _she_ that he rejected for me. But that was from way back in preschool, but I was still going to get her back for it.

It was sort of just watching them make out for a while, but then they started to get a little too comfy in my opinion, and I decided to jump right in. It felt a little weird at first, since, you know, she's not my girlfriend, but I was supposed to act totally turned on and shit because I was taking over his whole being… if that's how you want to put it. I had to keep myself from laughing.

And then I said it. I said my name. And she slapped us, she slapped us very hard, and I don't think he realized anything. I don't think he even remembers anything. But I can make him remember. I have the advantage. Fuck yeah.

I love my life...well, death.

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LOVE ME, HATE ME, BUT CAN YOU SEE WHAT I SEE?  
all of the boys and all of the girls are begging to if you seek amy~

**anyway, review (: **


	2. One

**Chapter 1  
Don't Cry Over Spilled Milk**

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**Part One : Roxas**

Roxas had a very organized and neat daily routine. First, he would take a nice, hot shower that left him red as a tomato when he stepped out. He then would take at least four minutes to brush his already pearly whites, while staring at his face in the mirror, wondering why his stubble never grew long enough that it needed shaving. Then he would spit, rinse, sigh, and go back into his room to change into his usual work attire: a white chef's coat that reached his upper thighs, name tag included, a pair of (hot, temperature wise, don't get your panties in a bunch) black slacks, and some cheap-but-really-expensive-looking black shoes. After these steps are completed, he would call his brother, who was always strangely eager to hear about everything that happened, or _was_ happening in Roxas' life. Of course Roxas did that part reluctantly.

Once finally able to hang up the phone, he would go back into the steam-free bathroom and stare at his hair for like, an eternity, until he found one tiny strand of hair that didn't look right, where he would try and place perfectly. He would then sigh and begin his search for his car keys. Sometimes it would take less than thirty seconds, and sometimes it would take more than thirty minutes. Then, once found, he would go to the kitchen and have his usual breakfast meal: leftovers from the restaurant's dinner rush, except he usually only took spaghetti, lasagna, and things with any sort of noodles, and of course a glass of milk. Good for the bones, right? But everyone knows why he really drinks it. (Milk supposedly makes people taller.)

And on one particular morning, Roxas was having a strange amount of trouble setting up his usually incredibly simple and quick meal. He already had all the food and utensils placed nicely on the table, milk included. He angrily took a bite of his recently microwaved buttered noodles (he likes plain foods), all the vegetables pushed to the side, and glared at his milk with a fiery passion in his eyes. Except he was laughing, so his epic moment burned to a crisp. The thing was, he wasn't laughing because he chose to/found this funny. He then made his fourth attempt at lifting the milk off the table, his laughter as enthusiastic as ever. The carton lifted for a split second, then his muscles spasmed, and the milk slammed back down, making a loud and unappealing sloshing noise. He furrowed his eyebrows and pressed his lips into a tight line, but he couldn't keep the few giggles from bubbling out of his mouth.

He took a quick swig of milk, then slammed the carton back on the table. Then he paused. His laughter echoed through the empty apartment, bouncing off the walls, and he had to admit; it was kind of funny. But it was also making him very upset, pissed, and annoyed… all at the same time. He stared at the carton, dumbfounded, his mouth making strange shapes and noises. The laughter, he wouldn't call it _his_ laughter, began to sound choked and slightly forced. Roxas gulped down the… whatever it was that gathered in his throat. He flexed his fists a few times then cautiously tried to lift the carton yet again. He was surprised when it easily came up, and he happily began to pour it into his cup. But, again, his arm spazzed, and the milk jerkily moved above the noodles, where it began to poor, making a disgusting breakfast "cereal." Roxas groaned in revulsion and despair, his breakfast gone…technically. He reflexively put the milk back on the table and went to get a paper towel, wiping away the milk that managed to get on his hands.

Unwillingly, he walked back to the table, determined to get the milk up and into the glass. He squatted and checked to see if there was anything under the table, like some crappy booby trap that Demyx set up. Then he realized the idiocy of his actions, seeing as he only took the milk out very recently. He stood up quickly, his cheeks flushed, his laughter taking on a quieter tone. It was more like a light, breathy chuckle.

He then made one last attempt at the milk. He decided that if he didn't get it this time, he was going to go straight to work, forgetting the milk completely. Maybe he'd steal some from the restaurant while he was cooking some of the breakfast meals. He wrapped his fingers around the carton, opening and closing various times, making sure that he had a good firm grip on it. And then he yanked.

Nothing.

He almost screamed. Almost. But then he felt himself go on autopilot, the milk lifting up automatically. It paused above the cup, poised to pour, where Roxas tried and tried and _tried_ to tilt it. He was close, but no cigar. It just stayed there, while Roxas practically wet his pants waiting for it to go. And then in a split second, he could hardly comprehend what happened, he was holding the milk above his head, unable to control any of his actions. He was laughing once again, but now it had more of an evil, scary tone to it.

And then it poured. He was showered in a giant spray of milk, getting all over him, his perfectly sculpted hair, his perfectly polished floor, his perfectly white chef's coat, his perfectly unsoiled nametag, and most of all, his perfectly hand-made wooden table. _That_. Was when he screamed. His laughter stopped immediately, and he started to rock back and forth on his heels with his hands in his pockets as though he was guilty. He yanked his hands out of his pockets, ran over to the counter and pretty much ripped the paper towel holder off the wall. He began to scrub vigorously at the table until the paper towels began to rip and dissolve. He soon gave up and almost let out a very unmanly sob.

Instead of despairing, he walked—_dragged_ himself to the bathroom, his head practically in his shoulders, dropping the moist, barely-alive paper towels in the hallway as he muttered curses and threats under his breath. When he reached the bathroom, he stripped amazingly slowly, peeling off one article of clothing at a time, and then stared at his nametag for a long, antagonizing moment. He sighed, then walked into the shower, turning the water as hot as it could go. He leaned against the wall and let the water pour over him, washing away the milk.

His whole body flinched suddenly, his muscles beginning to twitch randomly, and then he felt a shivering, tingling sensation throughout his whole body. And then it stopped. He stood up straight and blinked, flexing his muscles, pacing around the small amount of space the shower allowed. It seemed as though nothing was wrong, so he leaned back again, occasionally chancing a glance at his arms.

And then he jerked. His arm flung out and his hand attached itself to the shower knob, Roxas staring at it, unable to control the grip. It was so tight that the tacky, fake crystals were beginning to hurt his hands. He gripped his arm with his left hand, pulling, hoping it would come off. It loosened for a minute, but swiftly reattached itself. He felt it turning.

"Fuck."

The knob turned, making the shower adjust to cold. Roxas let out a glass shattering shriek, the icy water surprising him. He was laughing again, and he was able to regain control of his own limbs. He turned the water off quickly, scrambled out of the shower, and stood there, shivering, laughing, and pitying himself. He dressed himself in a pair of large old sweats and a giant t-shirt, then set a chair out in the middle of the kitchen.

He walked around the apartment, looking for some rope, or thread, or anything that could tie, until he found the rope that he and Axel used to use to sneak out in the middle of the night. His laughing stopped. He raised an eyebrow and shrugged, walking back to the chair he placed in the room. He sat down, pulling the rope around himself. His arms shuddered to a halt; the rope squeezed tightly in his hands turning his knuckles a pale pinky-white. He sighed.

Unable to really do anything, he pretended to lie limp. He felt the shivering and tingling again for a moment, and then it was gone, his arms lying at his sides. He poked one eye open and then hastily tied the rope around himself, making sure that there was no way he could do anything remotely idiotic.

He shivered.

"Wow, Roxas…this is really kinky," Roxas said…or didn't say. It came out of his mouth, though. Roxas' eyes widened.

Then everything went black.

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**Part Two : Axel**

God, you won't believe how boring Roxas is, no matter how many times I tried to explain it. Like, I mean, I understand how right after he rolls out of bed he takes a nice steamy shower, because that's completely normal. But like, after that he brushes his teeth and stares at himself like he's an angel with orange juice coming out of his ears. Please ignore the bad metaphor, but _really_. He stands there for like a year, touching his face, then _finally_ goes to change. But you know, it really surprised me…you know…how _big_ he was. I mean…he's so… _short. _So anyway, I think he's like, in love with his nametag, because after he puts it on he pats it like a father would pat his kid on the head when he caught a fish. Oh god, and after that, he has to call Demyx. Don't get me wrong, I love Demyx, but sometimes he can be so…roar-y… you know? And I would listen to them talk for a while, and almost every day my name would come up somewhere (once Demyx reminded Roxas my name. can you believe he forgot?). Here's how the conversations usually went.

Roxas: I'm getting ready for work, as usual.  
Demyx: Any news about anything else then?  
Roxas: Well, nothing from Axel or his family yet. So no, not really. (Sigh)  
Demyx: I'm sure he'll call sometime; you guys were best friends.  
Roxas: Yeah. _Were_.

And then he would be sighing for like the rest of the conversation. It hurt to see him like that, but I'm sure it would be a lot worse (and scarier) for him if he knew I was dead and floating around his house watching him sleep 'cause I couldn't go to heaven or hell. So I'd watch as he ran around the house looking for his keys while I saw next to them. They were always in really bizarre places, too. I even made a mental list. Stuck in a cheese block, under a couch cushion, in the freezer, a laundry pile, etc…

After about a week or so of this crap, I got incredibly bored. I would be watching him and practically falling asleep…if ghosts can sleep, anyway. That's why I like to go in him (god, that sounds really weird) when he sleeps, and I get to screw around with his dreams. But we're getting off topic: I got really bored of Roxas' boring schedule. Wake up, work, school, work, homework, late dinner, more homework, sleep, and then it starts again! It's the circle of life, folks.

So after I figured out his schedule, I decided I'd try a little… experiment. Not too much, just enough to figure out what I could do as a ghost. I jumped right into his life, literally, and learned I could basically control everything he…_I _did unless I was too distracted by my laughter or my sulking or my bored…ness. Anyway, he was just eating breakfast and I wanted to have a little fun. It was kind of funny actually…_really_ funny. Hilarious, even.

It was funny that my laughter came out of his mouth, even though I could clearly see the anger that I pushed to the back of his brain. It was funny that he was just _so_ determined to get the milk into his cup, but I kept holding it down. It was funny when I was caught off guard by his idiocy and he took a giant swig of milk but didn't realize he even picked it up until he put it back down again. And now, as I explained before, I'm not exactly the nicest friend, or person in general, so when I say _fun_, I mean make the person miserable for a short period of time. So i… you know… dumped him in milk. Dunked. Yeah, that's a better word.

And he freaked. It kind of scared me, so I got out, let him storm around the kitchen for a good ten minutes, scrub at the table for another twenty. I'd never seen Roxas angry before this. It was a shocker. But then he mellowed out, and practically slumped to the floor. I knew he was relaxed again, so I decided to follow him into the bathroom, hoping that he wouldn't like… punch the mirror or something. But the mirror was probably his new best friend, considering how long he looks at it every day. So as he was stripping (shut up), I got the best idea in the world. He stepped into the shower, turned the water to hot, and then shut the curtains.

As I peered over the top of the rod, I got the best idea in the world. In the world of dead people's ghosts living on earth anyway. I'm sure dead people aren't very creative, but I think my creative mind has followed me to the death, you know? Anyway, I snickered evilly and loudly, not that he would hear me, which really sucks, because I like attention, and jumped right into him again. God, he was fucking hot. I didn't even think white people had their water so hot; doesn't it like hurt their pale skin really easily and stuff? Anyway.

I tried moving his arms. At first he just started blubbering like a fish, and then he got back to normal, where I was able to move around. I decided not to do anything with his face, because he would probably guess something weird would happen and turn off the water… even though I could just turn it on again for him. I tested my strength against him, and if I set my ghostly brain to it, I could force him to the back of his head and then I'd be at the driver's seat. So yeah, I turned the water cold…now that I think about it, it wasn't that great of an idea. At least it got a scream out of him, right?

So then he changed really fast and angrily and I got kind of scared so I let him be, just "sitting" on the couch, waiting for him to cool off. Once he came out, he started walking around the room, looking for something. I was gonna go check what it was, but then I decided I did enough mind-reading crap that day. Did you know he thought more about me than Namine? Insert extremely large grin here, please.

Any-who, he started going to this closet that he like, never even looks at, so I got slightly (very) curious and followed him. He was rummaging around for like, an hour. And then he pulled out our rope. Our _rope_. Or, I should say, our ex-rope. That was from like middle school and high school. I threw mine out the day I found out he was going to HBU because, obviously, I would only be seeing him like four times a year. More like two. So anyway, he pulled it out, and I really was clueless as to what he was doing now. I was kind of touched that he kept it, and I wasn't about to let him do anything weird with it. And then I saw the chair he placed in the middle of the kitchen, and was going to sit in it, and I instantly knew what he was doing.

I quickly jumped in and halted his movements as fast as I could, which wasn't very fast, because I'm kind of new at this taking-over-someone's-body-for-a-while technique thing. I held his arms out in front of him, making sure that he wasn't going to do anything really retarded. Like tying himself up because I practically made him crazy. So his eyes widened suddenly and I freaked out, and then his head lolled to the side. You don't know how scary that looked. It was like someone strangled him with that rope. So I quickly jumped out and ran—or floated to the other side of the room, and watched him, my eyes…clouds for eyes open wide. Then one of his eyes poked open, and he stared at me, which was kind of weird, because I don't think he could see me.

He ended up tying himself up anyway. I saw the smug look of triumph and I instantly wanted to bitch slap it off his too-happy face. So I jumped right in and spoke to him my few words of wisdom.

"Wow, Roxas… this is really kinky."

He blacked out.

I didn't feel guilty.

Nope. No fucking way.

So I waited for him to wake up.

* * *

**Part Three : Demyx**

Demyx was freaking out. Roxas, apparently, hadn't gone to work or school that day, even though he sounded perfect in the morning. He may be over reacting, but it seemed like he disappeared off the face of the earth. He'd never gotten a call from Roxas' boss, and apparently, he was really nice, but Demyx thought he seemed very creepy and too touchy-feely for a normal person. He kept talking about all this hearts and heart-moon-shooters crap, like _that_ was what made Roxas miss work. And since Demyx was freaking out, so was Zexion. Zexion truly wanted to help, but once Demyx started, he wouldn't stop until he figured out the reason. Demyx even called like, ten times. Or maybe that's exaggerating but anyway, he may seem persistent and annoying, but he's actually very calm and mature—except for when he gets near water or takes a bath. Once Zexion was able to make him relax, he suggested that he go to Roxas' apartment. At that, Demyx jumped up and gave Zexion an intensely gross and slobbery kiss (missing his lips terribly, which, to Zexion, was a very good thing, seeing as how much he'd drooled) and grabbed the keys off the table.

And then he was off. Except he got pulled over for speeding, where he practically screamed at the officer what was happened, but he eventually gave up because Demyx was spitting all over him, and even his motorcycle helmet didn't help. So he waved him off with a ticket for only twenty-five dollars, and Demyx gratefully paid thirty dollars, and was once again speeding to the complex. He was there in less than six minutes. Including the police's interruptions. When he knocked on the door, there was no answer. He knocked again and again, but there still was nothing.

He racked his brain for the spot Roxas kept the spare key, eventually remembering it was in a rock by his door that, strangely, had just enough room underneath it for it to lay flat. He quickly bent over and smashed the key into his hand and with shaking hands, stuck it into the doorknob.

When he walked in, he expected to see blood on the walls and guns and knives and bazookas all over the kitchen and broken furniture and everything that you could imagine as though a killer raided the house. But instead, to his dismay, it was at its normal Roxas-cleanliness. The walls were white as usual, all the furniture nice and put together, the kitchen having absolutely no stray dishes… except there was food on his table. Which was really odd, and Demyx had a sudden urge to go eat it.

But then he saw Roxas. Sitting tied up in the middle of the kitchen, his head lying awkwardly at the side, his hands and torso trapped under the thick rope. He quickly untied him and slapped his face a few times. He didn't do anything, his lips just squeezed together as he sat unconscious. Demyx tried again, but apparently didn't realize how _hard _he hit. He sent Roxas and the chair flying to the ground, and it made a deafening crack. Roxas, obviously, was fully awake after that.

"Roxas! Did you skip school? And skip work? You stupid bitch, you can't do that!" Demyx shouted at him, clearly scared to death. He kept ranting, while Roxas was trying to remember how he got on the ground, and more importantly, tied to this chair. He blinked warily up at Demyx while he was chanting obscenities at him. Eventually he got fed up and kicked him in the chin. "Fuck, what was that for?"

"Did you tie me up? Why am I on the ground? Did you put the spare key back? What time is it? Can you untie me?" Demyx glared at him but complied, untying the rope.

"I did not tie you up. You are on the ground because I slapped you really hard. I did not put the spare key back; I was fucking scared. It's around five thirty. You missed school and work, and I'm seriously curious as to why. You know I'm not gonna let you move back in with me and Zex if you start ditching school and don't go to work. And I'm pretty sure mom and dad won't let you move back in with them. Also, don't do drugs or I will fucking kill you." The knot came loose. "Check your phone, dip shit."

He pulled the crappy black phone out of his pocket, blinking in surprise at the number that screamed up at him.

_Twenty Three Missed Calls!_

_Work--4_

_Zexion—6 _

_Demyx—9 _

_Namine—1_

_Cloud—3 _

"Oh. Damn. Sorry Demyx. You know, the strangest thing happened to me today…"

* * *

wow, okay, almost 4000 words. thats like the longest chapter i've ever written! (because i'm lazy, but we can ignore that) anyway, i realized i typoed really really REALLY bad in the last chapter. during axel's POV i wrote "i love my life" but he's dead. OOOH SUE ME NOW. yeah, well, i hope you enjoyed this chapter. review and you're automatically my best friend.


	3. Two

hay gaiz! been a while! but this chapter's extra long (for me, anyway), and i'll hope you'll be nice and leave me tons of reviews. thanks, enjoy this wonderfully unexpected chapter. i really didn't know that the whole thing with riiimmmfff--he who shall not be named was going to happen. meow. :3

**Chapter 2**

**Part 1: Roxas**

Today, Roxas was able to get ready for the day with relative ease. He was even able to drive to work without rolling down the window and winking at some random girl on the sidewalk. It really was an unnecessary side effect. When he actually got to work though, his boss was looking a little odd. He was strangely red, slurping up some spaghetti noodles that were originally meant for the lunch rush at the restaurant.

"Hey Boss." He paused mid-slurp and with a big, dramatic head turn, glared intensely at Roxas. Roxas frowned and turned to his only friend in the restaurant full of chefs that acted almost _high_ all the time, Cloud. He made an angry gesture at the pot he was stirring, then another at Ansem, who was still glaring at Roxas while shoving handfuls of noodles in his mouth. _Oh._

Once Roxas looked back at Ansem, he gulped the noodles down audibly before harshly sliding the bowl away, as he was a child that didn't want to eat his greens. He stood up, straightened his tie, smacked his lips and drew in a deep breath before bellowing, "Roxas!" Almost everyone working flinched at his unexpected outburst, "I will see you in my office. Now!"

The whole kitchen went silent, except for the occasional clatter of silverware, the oven beeps, or a completely fake, forced cough. Then, everyone erupted into loud "ooh"s and "Roxas is in tro-o-ouble," like immature little fourth graders when a classmate was called to the teacher's desk. Cloud was the only one mature enough to yawn and continue stirring his batch of noodles that were most likely going to be devoured in the next ten minutes.

Once everyone had "gotten back to work," Roxas rolled his eyes and pulled his sleeves back to his elbows while walking to Ansem's office, completely oblivious to the fifteen sets of eyes drilling holes into his head. When he opened the door and slid inside, it was exactly what he had been expecting. Ansem's office had been completely transformed into a mini interrogation room. All the lights were off, except one lamp that made his features look amazingly dark and creepy. The desk had been stripped of any material except for Roxas' file.

Now, Ansem isn't crazy. He's perfectly normal in his own unique way. He may have trained his dog to use the litter box and his cat to scratch the door. He may have built a gun that was supposed to be hot enough to burn the moon, but instead used it to heat up the oven when he got impatient. And he may only eat starch, but lots of people do that. He may be protective and have different ways of doing things, but he is far from crazy. In the kitchen, when cutting vegetables, or using a knife for anything, he has his employees wear gloves to protect them from the sharp edge. When a customer's food is too hot, he takes it back into the kitchen and puts it in the freezer for a few moments to cool it down. And he likes to have a little fun during the work day.

Roxas took a seat on the homey, wooden, hand made chair, and folded his hands on the desk. Ansem opened the folder delicately and began to read the most recent work-related information about Roxas. His eyebrows raised and his lips twitched every few seconds, showing that he was in deep thought.

"So, Roxas… I hope you have made a plausible assumption as to why I have called you in here this morning," Ansem said, still scanning the files intently, as if there was a major flaw in plain sight, but he couldn't seem to find it. Roxas half smiled to himself, nodded and said: "Yeah, boss. Would you like to hear it?" Ansem also had a different way of talking. He would ask questions, and to answer you would be required to ask for permission so he's not the one asking the question.

"Please."

"Well, I'm sure you, and maybe my colleagues, have noticed I wasn't in the restaurant the other day." Ansem nodded, signaling him to continue. "And I think my brother, Demyx, may have called, telling you I hadn't shown up at school either. Might I have reason to suspect…?"

Ansem interrupted suddenly with boisterous laughter that echoed through the room. Then he said: "My dear Roxas," and went to turn on the lights, revealing the whole room. He had family portraits, certificates, and even some old band posters hung all around the room. His desk was a nice deep shade of mahogany, and the whole room seemed to give off a feeling of serenity. It was like it had a calm radiating from it. "You're smart as ever, I see," he said as he sat back down, his chair creaking from the sudden pressure. "Yes, that's exactly why I've called you in today."

He slid on a pair of glasses and looked at Roxas, worry clearly written into every one of his features; eyes, wrinkles, even his little hair looked a little deflated.

"Now, Roxas, the last time you missed work was…" he checked the file again, "last year. And even then you called me to notify me of your absence. But yesterday, I hadn't heard anything until your brother, Demyx called." He sighed. "Are you sure you're feeling up to work to day? I'm more than willing to give you the day off."

Roxas stared at him blankly, then veered off into a huge mental debate. If he were to miss work, he could go visit some friends, or even have a real breakfast. But if he did, that also meant he wouldn't get paid, and he would either have to go hungry for about a week, or worse, have to ask Demyx for money.

"With pay."

"Oh. Okay. Thank you Boss. I really appreciate it." He smiled and stood, resisting the urge to bow his head. Then, practically skipping, he left the room. Before he left the whole building though, he made sure to send Cloud an especially evil smirk. While he was busy stirring noodles, he would be dancing happily around town until class started. Cloud flipped him off, which he was later called into Ansem's office for.

* * * *

Sora saw him first, who shouted out a huge, "Roxas!" causing all the diners to turn their heads and gleefully lift their drinks, and another chorus of "Roxas!"s erupted from their syrup coated throats. Roxas, obviously, was very well-known at this quaint little diner. He didn't go there very often, considering he had taken the morning shift at the restaurant, but whenever he did show, he was always greeted by the same greasy but pleasant atmosphere and the same greasy but pleasant faces. There was Hot Dog Guy, who always ordered a hot dog no matter what time it was (they even made a new hot dog to put on the menu just for him), there were The Twins, who really only came to scope for hot guys (like Roxas), and then there was Leon.

Leon was special. He didn't get a nickname. He comes to the diner every morning and orders a simple black coffee. He would then read his newspaper for about twenty minutes, and when he sipped at his coffee, he would always ask for a new one, because apparently, "this coffee wasn't fresh." He also had a soft spot for Sora, who was willing to serve anyone at any time. Everyone who ever went to the diner knew Sora and remembered him. But for Leon, many thought Sora was the only reason he ever came back in each day. He was the only person he would actually _smile _for. But he had an even softer spot for Roxas. They never really talked unless both of them were at the diner.

That day when Roxas walked in, he smiled and waved halfheartedly. Roxas smiled slightly and walked to the bar where Riku was eating and Sora was drying some glasses, ranting about something "important" to Riku. When he sat down on the stool, Riku wound his arm around his waist and kissed him lightly on the cheek. Sora snorted and jerked a thumb at the sign behind him: "No Public Displays of Affection." They never really listened to that, and all three of them were used to it anyway. Riku and Roxas sort of had a one-sided relationship.

Of course, Roxas never let it get too out of hand. If Riku ever took a step to far, Roxas would glare and shout and stomp around until Riku backed off. But the little hugs and kisses—never on the lips—Roxas welcomed. He always felt horribly guilty after sending Riku away, and also, even though it's selfish, he enjoyed the attention and soothing touches he received while Namine was out of town. Namine had no idea that this was going on, or that it had been going on since Roxas first moved to Hollow Bastion.

"Mm, you smell good today." Roxas placed his hand on top of Riku's, which was resting lightly on his stomach, his nose in his hair.

"Sora, give me five pancakes and an orange segment." This was what Roxas usually ordered, although it did vary sometimes. Instead of an orange, he would get an apple or a kiwi. Once, while eating breakfast with Leon, he tried to drink a black coffee. He couldn't do it without adding tons of cream and sugar.

"Sure thing," he flashed a huge grin, "be out in a few minutes." Roxas rested his head on top of Riku's and began brushing his fingers through his soft silvery hair.

If you didn't know any better and were just passing by, you'd think Roxas and Riku were a couple, which is completely understandable. But they each had a different kind of love for each other. Roxas loved Riku as a brother, Riku loved Roxas in the way that every time he got near him, his heart would race, his palms would seat, and his throat seemed to have shriveled up to a raisin.

"You should quit your morning shift. I like having you here. It's nice." He lifted his head and took an amazingly huge bite of his bagel. Roxas sighed.

"You know I can't. I won't be able to pay for the apartment." Roxas pulled away completely and turned to face Roxas with a cat-like grin, eyes burning with passion. Roxas sighed and rolled his eyes.

"I could—"

"No."

Sora came in then, carrying a plate high above his head, shouting, "All right, Rox! Five pan—" and then he paused, realizing what conversation he had just walked into. This would happen almost every time Roxas showed up at the diner. Riku would bring it up, Roxas would harshly turn him down, Riku would frown at his plate while chewing furiously and Roxas would stare at all the things that were hung up on the wall. If angry enough, he would walk over and talk to Leon.

"Besides, if I lived with you, you wouldn't need to have me at the diner every morning." But never had he responded to it like that; and it was completely his doing, not some unfathomable idea that someone else was saying it but it just happened to be coming out of his mouth. Riku brightened instantly, and Sora and Roxas rolled their eyes as Roxas took a bite of his pancakes.

But then something strange an unexpected happened: Riku's eyes narrowed to slits, his mouth turned into a deep set frown, and he picked up his plate and stormed over to Leon's table. When he sat down, Leon looked at him for a minute before he stood up with his coffee and sat in the bar, taking the seat Riku had been previously occupying.

Roxas had been watching this whole charade with a bemused smile playing on his lips. He gave Leon a quick high five under the bar and winked at Sora. When he looked back at Riku, he was eating his bagel happily and noisily. Then he paused, blinked a few times and looked back at Sora, Roxas and Leon were. Then he put on a sort of 'what the hell' face and brought his plate back to the bar. Then he froze, his eyes staring straight forward, as though one of the creepiest things were happening to him.

Roxas decided to ignore his theatrics and eat his breakfast. Until his phone rang. He sighed and looked at the caller id. "Fluffy." He smirked a little.

"Hey Cloud."

"Where the hell are you? Boss needs to talk to you." There was the sound of a pot clanging to the floor and heavy breathing, and then Ansem was on the phone. "Roxas, are you okay? You made it home okay, right? I—"

"Yeah Boss, just fine. I'm coming in the night shift. Talk to you later."

"Ok." The phone clicked dead.

Roxas sighed and checked the time. The hands were pointed at 11:14. he had class in 45 minutes. He sighed. It wasn't that he didn't like school—actually, he loved school. He's dreamed of coming to HBU since he was in seventh grade. But that's beside the point. The point is, he never spent nearly as much time with Sora and Riku as he wanted to. He was actually beginning to consider letting them move in with him. He was barely scraping up enough money to pay for the apartment, furniture, and the thousands he still owed Demyx for when he lived with him for about a year.

"Yeah Sora," he started, chewing on his pancakes thoughtfully, "and Riku," Riku perked up a bit at this, "how much do you guys earn in a week, maybe? Or in an hour. Or whatever." He took another bite of the pancakes. Sora made a little humming noise in the back of his throat and tapped his chin.

"Well, with tips I can earn up to four hundred bucks from tips, daily. And then I get a minimum wage from the managers." He smirked and walked away to go serve some customers. And it was pretty obvious _why _he earned so many tips. Sora was simply a crowd pleaser. Sora was easy to talk to. Sora was… Sora. Roxas watched as Sora smiled and spoke enthusiastically, the customers smiling right along with him. Roxas half smiled then turned back to Riku.

"And you?"

Riku raised an eyebrow and smirked, then said: "I make like five hundred a week, and I know it sounds like cra—don't give me that look, but my parents send me five to ten thousand a month depending on how much I need it. May I ask _why_?" It was silent for a moment while Roxas tried to think of an answer that wouldn't make Riku eager as a dog playing fetch.

"Just wondering." He looked up at the ceiling, chewing on his pancakes, toying with the orange segment pushed to the side of his plate. "Anyway, I have to go get ready for class. Tell Sora I'll pay for the meal later." Before Roxas got up and left, Riku placed a light kiss on his forehead.

"Come again soon, yeah Rox?" Sora shouted as he slid out the door. He only waved in response.

**Part 2: Axel**

Okay, so I may have just met the guy—well, "met"—but he was obviously way out of his mind. I know I'm supposed to look at it in a positive direction or something like, oh, he's not weird, he probably doesn't have problems! He's just a unique old man. I mean, the 'unique' and 'old' and 'man' all corresponded to him, but I think I missed a word. Maybe crazy. Weird. Completely out of his mind. Maybe he does drugs.

Who knows, but this guy was absolutely the coolest person I've ever met. Except maybe someone else I'll mention later. Anyway, my boss never had me go home because I was gone the day before. He'd just say to me in his amazingly deep and gravelly voice, "Tough it out, you piece of shit! I pay you for this, and I don't see a broken bone on your body, so shut your mouth!" He was really tough and scary; he was so big and muscular he looked like he could knock down the Hollow Bastion Castle with a toothbrush and his bare hands. Except I think the toothbrush would break first… but that's just my opinion.

Anyway, Roxas' boss gave him the day off, _with_ pay, which is totally not fair, and he excitedly left the restaurant, not missing the dirty look Cloud sent him, and drove to this little diner maybe a few blocks down. This diner was _amazing_. Like, when you first open the door, there's like this huge wave of pancake-y goodness that would slap you right in the face. It was possibly the best place I'd ever been, even though I hadn't really eaten anything.

It wasn't until that day that I realized how _popular_ Roxas was. I thought he was just gonna be this average kid at this new place, but turns out I was way off base. So he opened the door, and Sora seemed to see him first, and shouted at him. Then, the whole restaurant practically whipped their heads around towards us and they burst into another round of "Roxas!"s. My friends never did that for me.

Never mind that though. So, the first thing I did when we got there was instantly go stand with Sora. Even though I've only met him like six times in my life, he was definitely the best guy to hang out with. Besides Roxas, but whatever. So apparently, he was Roxas' second cousin twice removed on his mother's side. I didn't really get the twice-removed thing, but Sora came and visited maybe every four months for about two years, up when we were in our last years of high school.

I also kind of blame him for Roxas and Namine getting so close and touchy, because Roxas was like my bud. He would proudly ditch Namine to do something bad and stupid with me, and I kind of blew him off whenever Sora came down. I mean, yeah we let Roxas join in on whatever we were doing at the time, but I guess he felt sort of excluded, and I guess I sort of helped enforce that. So when we ignored him, he went to Namine. Now that I think about it, it makes a lot of sense.

And then suddenly Sora jerked a thumb in my chest, which was like the weirdest feeling ever, kind of like when someone pokes you and their finger is really, really cold and then your whole body kind of shivers and practically malfunctions. Or when someone tickles your foot. But anyway, I realized I'd kind of been in a trance, and looked behind me to see what he was pointing at. There was a white sign with huge red text saying: "No Public Displays of Affection." So I looked back at Roxas.

That was when I saw Riku. He was one of those pretty boys with luscious hair and amazing eyes that girls swooned around. And he was like, perfectly muscled too. I kind of imagined him as a kid, like he was probably a dork that wore suspenders and had nasty braces and huge glasses, 'cause in all those cliché stories that's what happens. The weird looking rejected kids always got to be really hot looking. But anyway, I decided I hated him, but I loved him at the same time.

So, here's why I hated him. He was touching Roxas in all these ways that was only appropriate for who he was with, and probably me, 'cause I've known him for like forty years, and he was just so… he was the kind of guy that would be like "I'm super hot and sexy and you know you want me. Can I touch you inappropriately in ways that many people would only dream of?" You know?

Yeah, and here's why I loved him. He was touching Roxas in all these ways that was only appropriate for who he was with, and probably me 'cause I've known him for like forty years, and he was touching him. Riku was touching Roxas, and Namine was not touching Roxas. That's always a good thing when someone besides Namine is touching Roxas. So I practically died of happiness. Actually, let's not use that metaphor.

Since I decided I hated him more than I loved him (does that mean I lust for him?), I got a hold of his brain wires and was able to move him to the table where this serious brown-haired man with a scar in between his eyes was sitting. It was funny how the brown-haired man with a scar in between his eyes' first reaction was to get up and get away from him. I laughed and took a bite of Riku's bagel, which was actually really unappetizing.

So I went back to where Roxas, Sora, and brown-haired man with a scar in between his eyes had moved to, and decided to hang out with them because Riku was a no-no. He came back anyway and took a seat next to Roxas again. I decided not to bother 'cause Roxas didn't look all that annoyed by it. Except I was growing more and more annoyed by the second. But then Roxas started talking, so I decided I'd leave them alone.

Until I realized what he was talking about. He was hinting about having them move in with him. Like, get their own rooms and stuff. In Roxas' apartment. With beds. And Roxas has a big bed. A biiig bed. But then I remembered Namine. But then I remembered I was going to make Roxas break up with Namine. And then I remembered if I make Roxas break up with Namine, Riku will go after him. So I just trailed back to the apartment and waited until he came back.

* * * *

I was nervous. I was very nervous. Like, how would he react? Would he start spinning in circles until he fell over 'cause he was so dizzy and then I would have to pick him up because he was too wobbly and out of it to get up and it would all be my fault? That would be really bad, because I really don't want to hurt him or scare him or make him react in a negative way that could possibly damage his head and make him go crazy and turn into those creepy people in those mental facilities that always really creep me out because all of the people are just looking at you with these giant eyes that are like "LOL I'M CRAZY!" just screaming at you. I was nervous, as you could probably see.

So I decided to get it over with in the quickest way possible. I'd have to possess him, which sounds totally creepy but it's like the coolest feeling in the world, and then I'd have to tell him in some way where he wouldn't like, choke himself. When he walked through the door, I jumped right in. I made him stop walking, and he kind of sighed as though this has happened a billion times before.

I was almost hyperventilating when he got there, if that's even possible for a ghost.

_Roxas._ He raised an eyebrow.

_It's me._ He raised the other.

_Do you remember?_ He started looking around nervously, like there was someone in the room about to pounce and stab him with a knife.

_It's me. _He held his hands up in a sort of surrender kind of way, when the police pulled you over for speeding two miles above the thirty five mile speed limit.

_No, Roxas, nothing's going to happen. Just relax… don't be all… pff on me now, okay?_

"What the hell?"

_Yeah, better, I guess. Okay, now, I need you to tell me where you think I am right now._

"Well, I don't know who the hell you are. And I think you installed this chip into my head while I was sleeping and you're talking to me from somewhere inside my apartment. Then you're gonna threaten to kill my girlfriend and me if I didn't do everything you told me to and I'm trying really hard not to freak out right now but I don't think it's working very well. Am I close?"

_Um. No._

"Darn. Who are you."

…_It's me, Roxas. You know me. You've known me almost all your life. You know…_

"…What?"

_Roxas… um, what about… that time when Demyx lit your hair on fire and your mom started crying? Or that I wanted to go to Traverse Town for college, but you wanted HBU? Do you remember?_

"No." He laughed hollowly, looking around the room kind of frantically. "You're lying. You're lying!"

_Uh… when you first got together with Namine and I almost killed you for it. When you gave your teacher flowers and I was jealous 'cause I didn't get any…?_

"Tch. This has to be some kind of terrible joke," he said, his voice trembling.

_Fire crotch?_

"Oh god… Axel?"


	4. Three

HEY GUYS.  
WOW I UPDATED.  
ENJOY.

* * *

**Part 1: Roxas (and Riku?)**

_You got it, kiddo._

Roxas was on the verge of a mental breakdown. Although, with all the crazy and totally unpredictable things that he'd been doing lately, (for example, watching a horror movie, when everyone knew that if you caught Roxas watching a horror movie, you were either high, dead, or he was duct taped to the chair.) he was beginning to consider that he actually might be crazy. After all, it wasn't every day that your ex-best friend of like fifteen years began talking to you in your mind. In which case, it was probably a fairly plausible reason to consider yourself crazy.

But anyway, he was standing in the entrance of his apartment, gaping like a fish at nothing in particular, with his fingers twitching randomly in a way that looked like he was completely mental. All his memories were flooding back. The ones he had tried so hard to push out of his mind (and for a while, he actually managed to succeed). He felt like his legs had turned to mush, and that some invisible force was rolling like a water bottle over his stomach.

For some reason, every sound in the room seemed to be amplified by like a thousand. He was suddenly very aware of how quickly he was inhaling and exhaling, and became a little self conscious. He could hear the blood pulsing in his ears, and the insanely cliche clock ticking like a bomb just about to blow. He let out a strange laugh that sounded kind of crazed and hysterical.

"Okay, this is a horrible joke guys. Demyx! Where are you!"

No answer.

_Roxas, come on!_ The voice inside his head screeched at him.

He was nervously walking around in his living room, and tried shaking his head, as though the voice was just water in his ears. He tried to sit down, but his legs wouldn't let him, no matter how much he struggled. The voice, or "Axel," you could say, was talking again, but he found it impossible to listen. Eventually, being the smart kid he was, he thought of something mischievous, and if you were a third party viewer with no personal interest in the matter, you would have found it incredibly dumb (and that yeah, he may be crazy). But considering that Roxas's body had been doing lots of weird things lately, not on his own accord, he felt that it was completely logical. And if it didn't work, he was going to call Demyx and tell him to put him in a mental facility. The voice in his head reacted to that, and was so loud that he swore the sound would be pouring out of his ears like rainbows.

First, he let his upper body go slack, so that his face wouldn't immediately be acquainted with his very, very _hard_wood floors. Of course, at first he wobbled a bit, from lack of balance, but then some invisible force helped him to regain his balance. He felt his muscles, unwillingly, contort into a frown. The voice said his name kind of scoldingly, as though talking to a dog that had just pooped on the carpet. Roxas hardly paid any attention to this, and tried to slow his breathing as he readied himself for part two. The voice inside his head sighed quietly. Then he let his legs go limp.

For a minute, he kind of wavered and wobbled unsteadily, before he felt a slight breeze as his face approached the antagonized floor. He also came dangerously close to the very square, very _cornered_ coffee table, and realized, a little too late, that it would have been so much smarter to try this in his bedroom, over his very big, soft, loving mattress. So then he finally took notice that he was falling and started freaking out, (he thought he heard the voice try and stifle a laugh) and tried not to automatically turn his head and push his arms out to catch his fall.

So he closed his eyes.

And waited.

But nothing came. He was suspended in midair, except for his feet, and his ankles seemed to be bent at a dangerously weird, bone-cracking angle, and was freaking out more and more by the second. Roxas slowly opened his eyes and started into the details of the wood grain and realized that holy fuck nothing happened to him or his beautiful face. But as much as he wished that was the case, he also remembered that maybe, yeah, something had happened to him. There was some weird thing possessing him, and just then, the door slammed open. Four (well, three) obnoxiously loud and annoying people walked in. Just as the first made one step into the apartment, Roxas yelped and fell face first into the ground.

Demyx and Zexion curiously peered over the couch, casting a shadow over Roxas's cringing face, laying curled up on the floor. They each raised one eyebrow simultaneously, before looking at each other briefly, and then stared back at Roxas's crumpled up body.

"The fuck..." Zexion muttered.

Demyx smiled, closed his eyes and shook his head, while Sora and Riku began making their way over to the couch, curiosity getting the better of them. Sora kind of looked with a blank expression for a moment, before laughing quietly to himself and turning to go raid the fridge. Riku stared like a cat for about two minutes, before he let out this ugly duck sounding squawk...thing, which received judging stares from both Demyx and Zexion, and hopped over the couch and landed almost on top of Roxas.

"Roxas! What happened! Fuck, somebody call 911-!" Roxas interrupted him by elbowing him in the stomach. Riku promptly fell over like an idiot and lay next to Roxas groaning slightly at the pain in his stomach. By now, the other two had lost interest in this particular scene and went over to help Sora make some macaroni and cheese he had found (and stolen from) in one of Roxas's pantries.

Riku stared into Roxas's eyes, ignoring the throbbing that was pulsing in his stomach. They were both lying on their sides, facing each other, and all he could think of was how easy it would be if he could swoop in and steal a kiss.

Apparently Roxas could read his mind or something, because before he could act on his astonishingly logical and amazingly smart plan, Roxas narrowed his eyes and stuck his tongue out at him before standing up (not very gracefully) and walked over to the kitchen to help out the three others. Because if he didn't, he knew that his house was sure to be covered in pasta, butter and very artificial cheese. Not a second later, Riku was back at his side.

"What the hell are you guys doing here?" Roxas groaned and rubbed his eyes. Riku pathetically tried to cheer him up by patting him softly on the back. It didn't really help. Not that anyone expected it to.

Sora shrugged and said, "Demyx invited us over. What the hell were you doing with your face on the ground?" Roxas sent an astonishingly demonic glare over at Demyx, then back at Sora, but neither paid any attention to it. Instead, Demyx greedily awaited the macaroni and cheese that was slowly beginning to cook on the stove.

"Demyx. Care to explain to me why you decided to invite yourself and my dumbass friends over?" Sora threw a spoon at him, which he dodged exptertly. "Oh, and, did you forget that this is my house? And you kicked _me_ out of _yours_?" Roxas was pretending to be angry, and he thought he was doing a pretty good job. Except Demyx didn't really look scared or anything, just happy and impatient. Weird mix of emotions, but it was Demyx, right?

"Oh, come on Roxas," he smiled sweetly, "you know you don't mind." He was right. "I mean, Namine's gone and I'm sure you could use the company." He paused to hold his hands out for a bowl of macaroni and cheese that Sora handed to him delicately. "And you know, I just happened to overhear these two morons gossiping about how," he paused and cleared his throat, "_Roxas won't let me move in with hiiimmm!_" which he said in a whiny voice that sounded almost exactly like Riku's, "and I was just like, oh wow! You know what? My brother has been steadily running out of money for a few months now and so he must be an idiot if he turned these two, obviously, semi-wealthy boys down!" He shoved some macaroni in his mouth. "And so I called them over here, and what do you know! They have agreed to move in with you!" He smiled as he shoved the rest of his mac and cheese in his mouth. Zexion stared at him with a look of slight disgust and amusement before starting on his own bowl.

"Again, this is _my_ apartment, Dem." Roxas said, no longer 'angry' at all.

"It won't be by the time November rolls around," Demyx said, already starting on his second bowl. It was September.

"What are you talking about? I have a job that pays well, and I think I have enough to last me a while." He began some math in his head, but he quickly became confused and had to resort to counting with his fingers, before he spoke up again quietly, "...November." With that, he sat down and planted his face against the dining room table and groaned. Sora smiled apologetically, but not really because he thought Roxas's apartment was freaking gorgeous and he wanted to live here since, oh, I don't know, forever. Riku just nodded in approval at the whole exchange. Then, suddenly, Roxas perked up and almost shouted with excitement, "I don't have enough bedrooms! Only two!"

"Roxas...you realize that all your den has in it is a bean bag chair and a laptop in it?" Zexion spoke up and stood to wash his bowl. Roxas decided he wouldn't mind if he was the one moving in with him. At least he would keep it clean.

"Jeez, Roxas, do you really want us gone that badly?" Riku feigned hurt, fake tears welling up in his eyes as he tried to make Roxas cave in with his astonishing beauty. Sora saw what he was doing and contemplated punching him in the face, and smiled to himself.

Demyx smiled, and he knew that he'd won.

* * *

The next morning, right as Roxas woke up, he walked out of his room and saw Riku walking in carrying lots and lots of clothing. He wondered how the heck he got into his apartment; he hadn't given him the keys yet, and how he could have enough space for the amount of clothes he was carrying in. He yawned and walked into the kitchen and pulled out some lemonade. Strange breakfast, but he couldn't care less. Any day was a good day when he didn't have work. Just kidding. He enjoyed work. But he enjoyed the various days where he was given time off to just be himself. He sat down on the ground behind the couch and watched as Riku and Sora worked their asses off getting all their gigantic boxes and loads of shit into the apartment.

Riku was holding a heavy box labeled "ELECTRONICS" (though Roxas was suspicious that it was just a massive pile of beauty products. How else could his hair be so perfect and glistening all the time?) and walked slowly through the foyer and placed it gently on the kitchen table. He wiped the sweat on his forehead away with the back of his hand and turned to glare at Roxas, who was drinking his nice, cool, iced cup of lemonade. Roxas smiled pleasantly and gave a (sarcastic) flirty wave and a wink. Riku sighed at the gesture and pulled his long (freaking beautiful) silver hair back into a pony tail and decided to pull off his shirt before walking towards the fridge. It was strangely hot for a September afternoon.

Roxas couldn't help but look. He was incredibly envious of how his chest and abs looked so chiseled and... well, muscled, and not disgusting, even though there was a light sheen of sweat covering his upper body. His pants hung really, _really_ low on his hips, and Roxas almost died when he saw his hip bones, all exposed and beautiful, and then he blinked and he didn't know what happened, but Riku was suddenly right in front of him. He looked up at his eyes, turquoise and only a few mere inches between his own blue ones. And that was when Roxas realized how attractive Riku was, and how, damn, he and Namine were definitely over. He bit his lip nervously and Riku smiled, before sneakily stealing his lemonade and walking back to do some more unpacking, humming a low tune. He was left sitting, all hazy and messed up behind the couch.

"Um...I'm gonna go...get some lunch!" he shouted to the rest of the house. Only Sora responded.

Once he was safe and seated in his car, he realized how hot his face felt and turned the air conditioning on high. He pressed his hands on his face and almost flinched at how cold they seemed compared to his burning cheeks. He sighed and closed his eyes, right as he heard the voice again.

"Fuck!" he shouted, and his heart was beating so hard that he could have sworn it would pound right out of his chest. Or something. He glanced around the car frantically, half expecting shirtless Riku to be sitting next to him and smiling at him ever-so-innocently.

_Yuck..._ the voice mumbled.

Roxas sat silently for a few minutes, willing the voice and Riku (and his freaking amazing body) out of his mind. Eventually he stopped, and began hitting his head on the steering wheel like an idiot. Once he was finished beating himself up, he breathed in shakily and changed the gear and headed towards the nearest Chinese takeout place was.

Right after he ordered, he was given one of those blinker things. Like you would get at IHOP or something, that would light up once his food was ready for him to take home. While he waited, he sat in his car and fiddled with the radio for a few minutes. All that was on was some ugly country song and some ugly metal song and basically, nothing good, so he turned the radio off altogether.

Right when he turned it off, it crackled, and an oddly familiar voice shouted, "Roxas!"

He shrieked and slammed the back of his hand into the window and his head on the ceiling as the radio was saying, "Woah woah! Sit down, damn it!" and so on. He began pressing all sorts of buttons all over his car, accidentally turning on the windshield wipers, opening the sunroof, and popping open the trunk. By then he gave up and tried to shrink into a tiny ball in the corner of his seat. He was thinking that maybe it was time to start seeing a therapist.

"Roxas...damn, calm down, come on. It's just me," the radio spoke up while Roxas blubbered like a fish. "Come on, it's okay. I actually think you're handling this situation pretty well. If I was you I think i would have grabbed the bat i kept in the back seat and smashed everything I-." As he was talking, Roxas began looking around in the back of his car and reappeared with a metal water bottle. "Woah! Stop! FUCK! God! Stop, stop, stop!" Roxas paused. "Would you freaking listen!" As the voice got angrier and angrier, the hood of the car began to smoke, and Roxas looked at it as if there was a giant moth playing guitar on his car. "Oh shit, haha. Sorry about that, man." Roxas continued to stare at his radio. "...come on, can't you at least say something?"

Just then, the blinker lit up and vibrated and Roxas nearly died all over again. He hopped out of the car as quickly as humanely possible, and it took everything in him not to sprint back into the restaraunt. He took his food carefully and walked excruciatingly slowly back to his car, taking his damn sweet time. Once he had actually reached it though, he pretended he couldn't find his keys (even though there was nothing else in his pockets besides his cell phone).

Reluctantly, he unlocked the door and slid in, and once he did, the radio was already talking a mile a minute. He hadn't even put his keys in.

"Okay Rox, I get that you're not going to talk to me, so at least listen." He nodded incredulously. "Thanks. And by the way, you're not crazy." The corners of his mouth twitched upwards before he seemed to understand what he was doing and set them in a firm line again. "Hah. Well um, you can start the car, I guess. It's like a ten minute drive, right?" Roxas nodded slowly. The radio chuckled softly. "Alright. I'll explain while you drive. Hmm... so you know how my family and I suddenly-oh yeah, this is Axel, by the way. Anyway, you obviously know that my family stopped contacting you." Roxas grunted. "Yeah. Um. Well, I hate to say this, but it's because... well, I'm dead." Axel paused, but Roxas's expression stayed the same. "Okay, and well...man this is tough. What I want to say is... I'm sorry, and um, stop freaking out when I try talking to you. I-I mean, well, yeah it's kind of scary when your car suddenly starts talking to you-." Roxas laughed and mumbled something like no shit. And then Axel laughed, and Roxas swore he could feel the car smiling.

"So..." Roxas began, feeling slightly insane (that's been happening quite a lot lately), "Axel...?" The radio blinked (like it's lights. not like open close, etc). "The hell...so, um...you're dead?" He said it rather harsh and blunt, and he seemed to realize. "I mean, um, well, what?" The radio laughed.

"Yeah...sorry about that. So, um, I've been like following you around for like two weeks. God I sound creepy, don't I. Um, yeah, and listen, I'm really sorry, but I've been messing with you like hell. You know, testing out my fabulous ghostly powers." Axel laughed nervously.

"You can possess people? And, um, inanimate objects?" he said, gesturing at the car. Axel laughed, and the car hummed lightly.

Luckly, Axel spared the details of his most tragic death, and tried as hard as possible to keep Roxas out of his depressed state. He was probably still unsure about this whole Axel being dead thing, and Axel was glad for that. When Roxas was depressed, it was not very pretty. They were talking just like they did in high school, and every so often Roxas would suddenly stop and realize he was talking to a car, before Axel would laugh and coax him into continuing with whatever he was saying before. Axel accused him of letting "Riku the pedophile" move in with him, seeing as he was the one he should be living with, as well as checking out. Roxas laughed nervously and realized that Axel had probably been hovering somewhere in his apartment watching as he practically drooled over Riku's defined body. Then he grasped the fact that Axel had been around for _weeks_, and must have seen a lot of other things, too. Like him showering. Or undressing. Or having sex. And then he nearly exploded, so it was a good thing that he had pulled into the apartment complex's parking lot by then.

As he was walking up the stairs to his apartment, he felt a sudden gust of wind go through him. He shivered briefly and then continued inside. When he opened the door, the main room was littered with dozens of empty boxes, and Roxas couldn't help but to sigh to himself. He shouted 'I brought food' to the rest of the apartment and almost instantly Sora and Riku were standing on either side of him mumbling things like, 'what took you so long?' and 'why don't you have any food here?You're a freaking chef!' or 'give me my damn food.' It was such a nice way to be welcomed home.

But then, he heard Axel laughing in his head at his reaction to Riku and Sora and decided that maybe it wouldn't be so bad after all. Except for the part where he sounded totally crazy just then.

They all sat in the small kitchen, eating together and enjoying each other's company. Every now and then, Riku would throw a pick up line Roxas's way, but he would just smile and talk to Sora instead. Every so often, Axel would make a sarcastic or snooty comment and Roxas would just smile to himself like a creep while Riku and Sora complained about how much work they had to do on that strangely warm September day. And then they would blame it on Roxas who didn't want to help them at all, not really considering how he never wanted a room mate in the first place; let alone two.

Although, Roxas did feel a little sympathy for Sora, because he knew that he and Riku would be spending lots of gooey time together. Sora would be kind of third wheel-ish, even though Roxas and Riku's relationship was completely one sided. To Roxas anyway. He sighed as Sora retreated to his new bedroom to get ready for work. On a Saturday. Which sucked. Neither Roxas or Riku had work that day, so they would be spending about four hours alone while sora was gone. Riku was looking forward to it. Roxas was not.

Riku had persuaded him into watching some weird 1950s movie with him, and Roxas found it so unbearable that he was rubbing his eyes one minute, and the next he was asleep on Riku's shoulder. Riku was kind of at a loss of what to do. He tried to distract himself with the movie, but Roxas kept nuzzling his neck and cuddling up incredibly close. He knew better than to take advantage of this situation, especially when he was finally (sort of) given permission to move in with him. And he was already on a tight rope when it came to them being even close to being a couple. Roxas started to make little cat like noises and Riku decided that he had either died and gone to heaven or... or he was fucked.

Out of no where, he began to shiver. And just as soon as it started, it went away. Then, he was somehow no longer in control of his body. He could feel his muscles moving, but he couldn't feel himself moving them. He saw himself waking Roxas up, but from a distance. Like he was floating around in the back of his mind. It was just like what happened to him at the diner. Roxas looked up at him with sleep-laced curiosity. Then he felt himself slowly moving forward, pulling his face closer and closer to Roxas's. He could see his eyes widen, and he tried to pull away, but the invisible force kept him out of control of his own body. He felt his arms tighten around Roxas, and then...

Their lips were touching.

At first Roxas blinked in disgust, before closing his eyes, deciding to let this one slide. Somehow, this didn't feel like Riku. And he couldn't tell if he liked it or not.

Riku was freaking out in his head, but the thing controlling him was keeping him from letting his emotions out. Then, his eyes were closed, and he didn't know what to do.

They were kissing, but he didn't even really get to experience it. He felt their lips press together, and soon it reached tongue, but he could barely grasp onto what was happening or what the _hell_ he was doing. And then suddenly, Roxas pulled himself away, as if just realizing what he did, and walked briskly back to his room before locking it quietly. Unexpectedly, as if in a blink of an eye, Riku got control of his body back again. He blinked in confusion for a minute before he ran to Roxas's door and started to beg for his forgiveness.

Boy, was he fucked or what.

* * *

**Part 2: Axel**

Man. These past two days were freaking crazy. But like in a good way. Except for one part. But I'll get to that later.

So yesterday, or the day before yesterday, I can't quite remember, I tried talking to Roxas. It was kind of weird. Like I went into his head. Does that sound weird? I think it does. It felt totally cliche Halloween flick. Oh by the way, I found out I could communicate with him through his mind. Heheh. Pretty sneaky right? First class ghost right here.

Anyway, when I did this, he freaked out. In a really calm way? Yeah well, first he kind of just laughed it off, like, 'oh this is some stupid prank by Dem and Zex and Sora and Riku. Haha, what idiots.' But then I started (mentally?) speaking to him about some of this stupid ass things we did when we were like ten or something and he started blinking like a... something that blinks a lot. But anyway, it was kind of amusing, aside from the part where he momentarily thought about slicing his ear off and sending himself to a mental facility. That was just dumb.

And then he decided to do this dumb shit testing thing, like to see if something (me!) was possessing him, I guess. Or maybe that's just because I knew what was going on. Or maybe he had just caught up on his ghostly studies. But that is beside the point! He decided to walk into the middle of his living room, where he had this like, square, glass table, and I was just like damn. You have gotten pretty stupid in just one year. So I decided to play along with his weird test, where basically he let himself...fall? Or something, and he was so nervous. His heart was beating so fast, I swear it could make me come back to life. Ha, ha. Keep dreaming. Yeah and so he let his um, top? go all lazy first, and so I humored him and kept his balance for him. You know what I realized? That I am a whole head taller than Rox, except somehow my ghostly body is like perfectly proportioned to his, so it isn't like when I bend my "knees" his thighs would bend or something. That was nasty. Anyway.

Then he let his legs go. So I let him fall, and fall, and fall. And he was sooo scared, I couldn't understand a single thought that went off in his head. But then I caught him! Like right before his face hit the ground. I decided that if he actually fell his nose would probably break pretty bad, and it made me feel a little guilty. Yeah so anyway, I looked at my (his?) ankles, and they were bent like...20 degree angle, or some really small bone-cracking angle, and that scared him pretty bad too.

The lock to his apartment clicked, and I heard some yelling outside. Something about not being able to open a door and a defiant, 'I open doors all the time, thank you very much.' And then I saw Dem, and I jumped out of Roxas (mmmhm) right as he took a step inside, and I gave him a giant hug!

A giant one-sided hug that is.

Forever alone. Bah. I hate being transparent.

Him and this Roxas-sized blue-ish, black-ish, blue-eyed guy walked over to where I left Roxas groaning in pain on the floor, gave each other a skeptical look before walking over to the kitchen where Sora was. Riku was being a pedo. I did not approve.

But I let go of that thought just as soon as it came, because oh my god, was that macaroni and cheese I smelled? I nearly died of happiness. Oh, wait, I'm already dead. Haha. Anyway, I was hovering around the kitchen for like _ever, _before it was finally ready and Sora turned around to hand me a bowl. I reached my hands out greedily, because, damn, when was the last time I had food? Oh yeah, that morning that I died. Weird. But then I felt hands go right through me, stealing the bowl away from my awaiting palms. I looked down at my stomach and saw the delicious, crappy mac and cheese being pulled out the other side and I really wanted to cry. But again, I couldn't. I wonder why I ever thought that being a ghost was even remotely cool.

Demyx was giving a speech about money and semi-wealthy people, but you know, I didn't really give a damn, when all I could do was smell the deliciousness floating around in the air, but not do anything about it. I kind of wished that I was in hell, because you get food there, right? Or maybe it was like hard bagels that made you crack your teeth in half and dry your throat to a crisp and they only gave you a teaspoon of water to wash it down. If that was the case, I change my mind.

God, I suck at telling stories. Anyway, I was completely content moping around the kitchen and sniffing everyone's macaroni, but then I heard the words "Riku" and "moving in" and that wasn't very good. Yeah, that was the bad thing I was talking about before. I guess you could say it wasn't all that bad, because I know you know that Roxas is having some trouble paying for his apartment (even though he has this hella nice job at this gourmet restaurant). But if you were me, you would know it's bad. Because if you were me, you would know about Riku. And if you were me, you would know that Riku was completely infatuated with Roxas and his beautiful blond hair and his beautiful blue eyes. And if you were me, you would also know that I may have a tiny crush on my _living_ best friend. Which is totally screwed up. Um...yeah. Riku.

Riku and Roxas have been friends for like a year, I guess since when he moved for college. Don't ask me how I know this, it's simple logic. I knew everything about Roxas before he moved across the universe, and I definitely knew that there was no boy that went by the name of Riku. And so, you know how I possessed him at the diner? That's also how I know he adores my Roxas. He was sitting their eating his shit bagel, when I decided to move him on over. He was thinking the most _disgusting_ thoughts. Like, "Hehe, Roxas let me hug him today." And something along the lines of, "I wonder if Roxas would let me cheat on him." And I was just like, NUH-UH, I am not having this. So you see, this is how my dislike grew. I wouldn't say hate, because of what happened the next day. Or rather, the two things that happened the next day.

* * *

I was sitting on the kitchen table watching as Riku was sweating his ass off trying to get all his crap into the apartment. How much shampoo could a guy need? Jeez. Actually I shouldn't be one to talk. I mean my hair is so freaking massive that I practically use a whole bottle every time I take a shower. Or every time I _took_ a shower. One of the upsides of being a ghost: you are always beautiful because you don't sweat, produce oils, or touch anything that had any dirt on it. Then I got a curious thought: would I be like a vampire? Where I walk into the bathroom and look into the mirror, and holy fuck nothing's there? Same with photos, I guess. Maybe it would be like The Polar Express, where you can only see if you truly believe. Ha, ha. (I was actually hopeful about this.)

Anyway. Riku was sweating his ass off, right? And then Roxas came out of his room after like a fifteen hour sleep, and he didn't even say good morning. I applauded his outgoingness.

So Roxas went and got a nice cold cup of lemonade, (actually he took the whole carton out) sat on his couch, and watched as Riku and Sora trudged up and down the stairs and across _his_ apartment. Riku, being the smart and amazing man he is, noticed this, and put his box labeled 'ELECTRONICS' down on the kitchen table. And then he took off his shirt. Roxas seemed pretty shocked too. And into it. And I was like, no, I am not having this shit. So I went to hang out with Sora. I admit it probably wasn't a good idea to leave them alone. I realized later that I could have possessed him and put his shirt back on for him, which would make Roxas think he was completely mental or something, but like heated arguments you have with your parents, that didn't come till after it was over.

Sora was scrambling around his room shoving clothes into his dresser and closet. I plopped down on his bed casually, thank goodness I didn't fall right through), and stared at him. He looked kind of stressed. His cheeks were pink and his hair looked really stupid. That's kind of a mean description, but like I dunno, usually it was normal-ish looking, even though it was sticking up everywhere, but today it was like an explosion of brown. I laughed at my own description, and he froze. And in turn, that made me freeze. He looked in my direction, holding his breath, for about two minutes before exhaling and going back to unpacking. I was still sitting there, dazed and amazed.

He walked over to the bed, and I seriously, _seriously_ thought that he was going to be like, "What are you doing here. You are a ghost. You do not belong here." But he didn't. He just stared at me suspiciously, although I doubt he could really see me, and pulled some picture frames out of a box that sat a little to the right of me. I huffed in disappointment as he began putting the pictures all around his room.

"Damn. And I thought you could see me."

Sora's head snapped up and I swear it would have broken if it wasn't...I don't know. Anyway, he just snapped his head up really fast that it was shocking. I gaped at him and he gaped at me. Well, he gaped at the direction my voice came from. He walked back towards me and leaned forward when he reached the bed. I sat up. He reached his arm out and waved it around, like what you would do when you were walking in the dark and trying not to run into anything.

When his hand reached me though, I shuddered at the weird feeling in the middle of my chest. Like all the happiness had been sucked out of the world. Sora was a dementor! Just kidding, I was actually hella fucking ecstatic that he could...sense me? Hah, weird, but oh my god I could die of smiles. (Don't start.)

He stood there staring at where I assumed he thought his head would be, with his hand out and right in the dead center of my heart. Weirdest feeling ever. I'm sure he thought it felt weird too because he was making this face as though he was watching a cow eating (which is actually pretty fucking gross, considering they barf it up and then eat it again. Could you imagine doing that? No? Good). And then he closed his hand into a fist, right into my sort of imaginary heart. I flinched, and he jumped away from me and ran out of the room, and then ran into some other room, slammed the door and locked it. Not that I couldn't get in anyway, but I decided to let it go. Maybe bother him and figure some more stuff out later.

Then I heard Roxas scream something about lunch, and so I followed him merrily out of the apartment while he looked all hot and bothered, for some mysterious reason that I was mysteriously envious of. Yeah, don't get your panties in a bunch. I was jealous of whoever, or whatever (hopefully not), got him all stirred up. Because you know what! And I am totally not afraid to admit this, but I am gay, if you hadn't figured that out already. I thought I made it pretty clear. But you see, if I were a fountain, I would be sprouting rainbows instead of water and unicorns would be drinking from me and frolicking all around.

Yeah... but that's beside the point! I have liked Roxas ever since I was like sixteen. Or whenever I realized I was totally and fantastically gay. Girls just didn't appeal to me! I mean, yeah I thought they were pretty and stuff, like Adam Lambert, but like...you know what, I don't even know what I'm saying. I just like guys, alright? Would you like to have a flashback? Because I would!

* * *

So it happened about three, maybe four? years ago, when Rox and I went to this party, hosted by his semi-fat-and-nerdy-yet-super-freaking-popular friend, Pence. Rox and I didn't exactly hang with the same crowd back then, and so when he asked me to come to Pence's party, I was a little (read: very) skeptical about it. After all, Pence and I just didn't click. I was tall and scrawny, he was short and, again, semi-fat. I dressed like every other guy, like a t-shirt and skinny jeans, and then he was like wearing all this basketball shit that just looked kind of weird. I was spunky and outrageous (oh my god I can't believe I just called myself spunky), and he was...well, normal and calm. I hung out with people from the bad side of town. Just kidding, but they were pretty...interesting compared to all the goody-two-shoes at my school. Yeah, and he hung out with people like Roxas, who were at the top of the social food chain at our school. I mean, I hung out with Rox too, but like...I didn't _hang out_ with him, you know? Okay, fuck that.

At this party, that I wasn't even legit-ly invited to, everyone got totally shitfaced and drunk, excluding me, of course. Being the DD, I sacrificed the deliciousness of tequila. Actually not really, I don't really like alcohol. Man I am such a good liar, right? Yeah, so in that 'everyone' that was 'totally shitfaced', Roxas was included. Ohoho, I bet you didn't see that one coming. Hm. So Rox was super freaking drunk, like so drunk that he needed help walking, and I found him sitting on the floor in this circle of like, five other girls and guys, playing spin the bottle or some dumb fuck like that. Luckily, although I assume you were expecting otherwise, I didn't have to be dragged into the game of to-be regrets, no matter how much Rox pulled on my pants (which threatened to slide off several times) or punched me pathetically in the shin. What the fuck kind of word is shin?

And then he got drunkenly impatient with me, and demanded I pull him up so he could stand. So I did, like the whipped little shit best friend I was. Remember, _was. _I am no longer that man. Hah! Because I'm dead and I can do what I want when I want. Yeah. But when I pulled him up, he was like 'why won't you play with meee?' And inside I was dying of laughter, because like, innuendo much? And then I said something like, 'because you're drunk and stupid and I'm not.' He got frustrated with me and stomped his foot like an angry four year old girl. I cracked a smile at this because, he looked so...gay. When he saw me smile, he gave me a face and then said, 'well if you won't play, then I'll make you.' And then he kissed me. And inside I swear I was doing back flips and somersaults, or running a 5k, because my heart was beating so fast it felt like a bomb.

And that, you see, is how I fell in like with my best friend.

* * *

Hmm, back to present day, where I'm joining Rox in getting his friends some delicious Chinese takeout. I couldn't honestly say that I didn't miss it. Because I did. So, so much more than you will ever no, because I fucking love Chinese, and it is my fucking life. Was. Was my life. Anyway, when we were in the car, I tried something totally fap-ulous and new. Drum roll, please.

Possessing an inanimate object!

Freaking amazing, don't you think? I possessed his car, by the way. It was..interesting. It was like not having arms and legs, and being on your back and hardly being able to see in front of you. Because I was a freaking car. And what was even more interesting, was that when Rox sat down and started hitting his head on the steering wheel, it hurt. I guess that meant I was a part of the car, huh? Yeah, pretty cool. Anyway, I started talking to him, once he was done bashing his head in. It was actually damn cool. When my voice came out, I was like, part of the radio, I guess. Like you know how when you turn on the radio, there are those bars that go up and down with the song? Yeah, my voice was doing that. I felt like it should have been auto-tuned. But it wasn't. Umm, so I started talking to him and he like shit bricks. Luckily he was a freaking amazing driver (or was I subconsciously driving for him?), because we made it to the Chinese place in one piece. The only bad part was that he ran out as quickly as he could and tried not to come back. But he did.

He just couldn't resist my charm, could he? Yeah, but then there was this blinky thing in his hand, and when it went off he left again, despite my protests. A sane person would totally stay and listen to my beautiful voice, right? Right.

Then he came back again, with this _de-li-cious_ smelling food in his arms, when I finally got him to talk to me. Sort of. He swore in the first sentence he said to me in a whole two years. Yup. So basically, once he started speaking to me, even though he doubted himself every so often, and I told him the story of my death. The whole time, I think he was just really shocked. I knew the depression would pick up later. Um, not to be self-centered or anything, but like if he died, I would be depressed too, you know? So, I'm hoping he feels the same way about me. In more ways than one. Except maybe I shouldn't, because then he would be crushing on a dead man. Which would really suck.

Hmm, all we really talked about after that was his life. His job, his school, his friends, his recently moved-in friends. Every so often he would falter, I imagine from feeling crazy because he was talking to his car, and that voice in his car was supposedly his dead best friend. But it was all good, because he was talking to me.

And I felt happy, for the first time since...you know.

**TBC!**

hay guys. leave me some beautiful reviews.  
sorry such a lame ending.  
I JUST WANTED TO POST IT SO BAD.  
yes but lots of things happened, no?  
sora's cool right. can see ghosts. or something. hah!

also: almost 8000 words? thats like double my last chap.  
im proud of myself. LOL


	5. Four

hey guys!  
um, this chapter is kind of _really_ short, but lots of important stuff happens..um.  
i promise to update really soon. like i'm really disappointed with this chapter so, more will come soon!  
preferably in less than 3 and a half months!  
i guess you could call this [part of] andrea's xmas present :)

happy reading!

* * *

**Axel**

Okay, so I don't think I ever said the second reason why I love Riku (that doesn't mean I don't hate him either). Or maybe I never even said the first? Whatever. It must have slipped my ghostly mind. Let's see. Where to begin!

So, after they all (Sora, Roxas and Riku) ate their Chinese food, Sora had to go to work at his lovely greasy diner. What does this mean? Why does it have any importance? Well. It meant that Riku and Roxas were going to be alone. Alone! For like, ever! Or however long Sora's shift was. Whatever. They were going to be alone for a long time. Like multiple hours. Which did not sit well with me, considering Riku. You see what I'm getting at, right? And so like, I couldn't help being suspicious and wary of that good-looking, perfectly-toned, silver-haired _god_ being alone with my Roxas! Wait, what was that? Did I say _god_? I meant freak. Pedophile. Retard. Assfuck. You know. The usual.

Instead of butting in immediately and changing everything to how I would prefer (Riku alone in his room), I decided to be the good guy and let them play, without my help. And if Riku tried anything with my man, well. He's gon' be in some deep shit. Did that sound gangster? Or something? 'Cause that's what I was aiming for. And that was also completely unrelated and unneeded in the telling of this story. Anyway.

Riku and Roxas are possibly the most boring people to have ever graced the face of the earth. I mean, seriously, for like an hour all they were doing was shuffling around the apartment like fat, deaf old men with arthritis and diarrhea. And then, being the white-haired old douche that Riku is, he picked out this like retarded movie that was like before our lifetime (aka: really fucking old). I swear, Riku was like an old man in his past life. Which is really not cool. In my past life, I was a member of this secret, deadly organization and I could control fire and had these sharp spinny things that could cut your head off! Or some shit like that...just kidding, I have no fucking idea what the hell I just said. But I was probably still something infinitely cooler than whatever the fuck Riku was. But anyway. That is way beyond the point of this story or of anything of importance.

So there was this ancient, and by ancient I mean like 60 years old, movie that was going on that had no sound or color so it's practically like watching a newspaper from Harry Potter or something, and Roxas looked bored out of his fucking mind. I kind of felt sorry for him. Riku like forced him to sit down and watch with him, and since there's no sound, you _really_ need to pay attention, otherwise the whole movie is just a big bunch of _what?_ Roxas was definitely _not_ paying attention, by the looks of his glazed eyes and slightly opened mouth and slowly slumping body and...oh! Voila (THAT'S FRENCH!), he's asleep. And then Riku looked like an awkward little fucker because Roxas was practically on top of him. Riku was fidgeting like a madman and I think he's being a dumb ass because obviously, every time he moves, Roxas moves closer to him trying to get him to stay still.

_Oh_.

That little piece of shit. He totally knew what the fuck he was doing. That was when I decided that I needed to be the hero and intervene. So like the super ghost I am, I jumped inside Riku and he shuddered like woah. And I think that must've woken Roxas up because suddenly he was staring up at Riku with those giant, amazing blue eyes of his that were laced with sleep and contentment and then I heard Riku's nasty ass thoughts and decided to take over completely. And then he started looking confused. It might've been because it was Riku, and his arms were around Roxas, and then his lips parted and my eyes immediately followed the movement. And then I just couldn't help myself.

Yeah. I kissed him. Sort of.

And I guess this is why I like Riku?

Well. Kissing Roxas was probably the best decision I ever made in my... after life, I guess. I can't remember there ever being a kiss that I had experienced that was better than this. Except maybe that time when he was drunk. But he was drunk. So...it's different. But this could just be that it's Roxas and my undying love for him will always make my heart flutter with glee. God, that is really dumb coming from a ghost. Umm. So yeah. We were kissing. On the lips. With tongue. And he's alive. And I'm dead. And then he pulled away and I wanted to cry.

Then I think he mentally slapped himself or something because he stood up really quickly and walked slash ran to his room before quietly locking the door behind him. I watched Riku pathetically knocking on the door, practically begging Roxas to come out and talk to him. I laughed and stuck my tongue out at him while I slid through the door with my amazing ghostly powers. What was strange though, was that when I got to the other side, Roxas looked up.

"That was you, wasn't it?" he asked, his voice barely over a whisper.

I didn't know whether or not to stand there like a jackass with my mouth hanging open and jaw and the floor or actually respond to his very accurate and confusing question. So I slowly regained my composure after a few moments of awestruck silence on my part, and then went uh, inside him, to you know, talk to him. Yeah.

_How'd you know I was there?_

He sighed in something like relief, frustration or annoyance...or all three.

"I don't know. Th-the...there was a wind. Or something. I don't know. I just felt it. But was it you, Ax?" He said it so quiet that I don't think I would have been able to hear him if I wasn't already in his head listening to all of his thoughts. I could hear his heart hammering in his head and I could feel it in _my_ chest, and I was kind of curious as to what that was.

_Yeah, it was me._

He sighed and fell back onto his bed, covering his eyes, burying his face in the crook of his arm. Just as he did, Riku stopped knocking and walked away, assuming from the sound of his receding footsteps.

_Hey...Rox..._

"Why did you do it?" I could feel his brain working and his jaw flex, which was probably not a good sign, because when I was still alive and we were still best friends, I remember he would always tighten his jaw and then clench his hands into fists when he was angry or nervous...which is exactly what he was doing then.

_Look, don't worry about it. It didn't mean anything. Riku was-_

"It didn't mean anything?"

His knuckles were turning white from the pressure he was putting on them and I could practically hear his teeth grind against each other. For a long moment, the only sound was the thundering of his heartbeat. I sighed in his thoughts and said, _Yeah. I don't know what came over me. You just looked so pretty!_ His eyebrows furrowed. _You know, I think I'd do you if you were a girl. And well...if I was alive_. Then (in his head, of course), I let out a nice hearty laugh, trying to lighten the tense mood he'd created with a little sarcasm. By the way, did I tell you that he didn't know I was gay? And gay for _him_? Yeah.

"Oh." My sarcasm plan backfired. "Alright then." And then he shoved me to the back of his mind where I couldn't get anything and I kind of wondered how he was able to do that. And then I replayed what just happened back in my mind and I couldn't help but feel like I did something totally wrong. Then I snapped out of my daze and heard a phone ringing next to his ear.

"Namine," he said, sickeningly sweet, "I miss you. When's the next time you're coming up?"

Yeah. I definitely said the wrong thing.

* * *

When I finally left Roxas to his pathetic suck up-y chat with his _girlfriend_, Sora and Riku were talking in the kitchen. Riku was sitting at the table with his head in his hands while Sora was looking in the fridge, hand on his hip, still in his work uniform. I "sat down" next to Riku and thought, _yeah, you and me both_.

"Sor, you don't understand. It wasn't my faul-"

"From what you've told me," he began calmly, pulling a bagel and cream cheese out of the fridge, "it really just seems like you kissed Roxas while he was sleepy and unaware of what he was doing and you're making up this bullshit about being possessed or something." I giggled (silently?) and he glanced at me, or, well, in my direction, with a thoughtful expression before returning to neutral and his bagel, "and you _really_ need to get over him."

"No, Sor-" He lifted his head out of his hands to look at Sora.

"No, Riku. You don't get it. Rox has a _girlfriend._ A girlfriend! And he's had this girlfriend since before either of us have known him!" He sighed, "I don't know why this is so hard for you to understand." And I kind of knew that he wasn't just talking about Roxas and Namine.

"Sora, you don't get it."

"Oh really now. And what is it that I don't get?"

Riku hesitated and looked down at the table, apparently too afraid to meet Sora's gaze. I watched them carefully and I suddenly felt like I really shouldn't have been there.

"Oh." Riku looked up at Sora with a hopeful expression on his face, "I get it." Sora said, inspecting his bagel. "You love him." He put the bagel down and looked away from Riku. "Well, don't let me stop you then." He cracked a smile at Riku, that actually looked kind of pathetic and a little bit dull, before putting his plate by the sink and walking to his room, bagel untouched.

What bothered me was that the first thing I thought was that I would've eaten that bagel even if I was depressed.

Anyway, I followed him to his room and left Riku at the table because holy fuck, even I understood Sora. Riku was just staring at his retreating back with a new, hopeful expression, having been given consent from his best friend. Fucking dense dickhead!

When we got to his room, Roxas was sitting on his bed, twirling a glossy photograph in his hand that I couldn't quite see.

"I broke up with Namine." And if I had any spit and was still alive, I probably would have choked and died right there. I think Sora had the same reaction because his eyes sort of bugged out for a second and he started gaping like a fish and he looked like he was going to fall over.

"W-w-why? What happened? Are you okay? Is this...is this because of Rikuuuuu...?" He dragged out the 'oo' in his name and as he held it, it got quieter and quieter and more and more unsure.

"Sort of."

* * *

MUAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA!  
god damn its 4 in the morning, i have school in 3 hours and im on ffnet?  
i couldn't sleep so i stayed up and wrote this?

goodness.


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